New Apple Watch To Change The Game In Wearable-Tech

Apple iWatch

This week, the long-expected Apple smart watch became a reality when the tech pioneer uncover its entry into the growing wearable-tech field.

The Apple Watch, which comes in two sizes and three styles with multiple choices for colors and wristbands, was expected to stimulate a market that's been slow to catch on as smartwatches from competitors such as Sony, Samsung, LG and Pebble rolled out over the past two years. More than just a mini smartphone, the Apple Watch, which will hit the market early next year, bundles a ton of watch-specific features. It has a "crown" knob to control scrolling and zoom without having to touch the screen, silent pulse bulletin, a slate of health and fitness apps and compatibility with Apple's new Apple Pay app, which lets users scan and pay card-free at participating stores. 

But there are also questions. 

The company is still secretive on many of the device's spec, including memory, screen resolution and -- most crucially -- battery life. The exact differences between the low-, middle- and high-end watches are also still blurry.

The watch must be tethered to an iPhone -- some observers had hoped for a standalone device -- and its $350 price tag is more than many were expecting. So did the company do enough to make Apple Watch a breakthrough device that will shake up the gadget market the way its iPod, iPhone and iPad did? Many analysts said they think so. "The Apple Watch defines the category in ways that other competitors will now have to work furiously to catch up to," said James McQuivey, a tech analyst at Forrester Research. "In classic Apple style, the company has introduced a new interface -- the digital crown along with a tap and touch capable surface -- that will make Apple's watch experience significantly easier to use than anybody else's." 

While many competitors have released a single smartwatch, sometimes in designs that have been panned for being bulky and unfashionable, Apple's trademark attention to design could make a difference, said Carolina Milanesi, chief researcher at Kantar Worldpanel ComTech. That's true, she said, even if the features Apple showcased won't come close to making a smartphone unnecessary. 

"I do think smartwatches are still a nice-to-have versus a must-have -- more a convenience than a necessity, which is why appealing more from a style perspective might win more users in the short term," she said.

Whether that pushes competitors in the same direction remains to be seen.

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